Letters

Published: January 20, 2008

Can You Count On These Machines?

Clive Thompson's article (Jan. 6) on voting technology and election administration was superb. It very much suggests that the Help America Vote Act of 2002 actually might have worked as intended if there had been more election administrators like Ion Sancho and Jane Platten to advise Congress when HAVA was devised. HAVA offered no assistance to inadequately financed election administrators as to what kind of machine to buy. The way out of this impasse may well be the development of professional programs in elections administration at university graduate schools of public policy -- M.A. programs that would teach best-practice methods of the sort used by Sancho and Platten, as well as the history of voting technology and election administration, principles of good ballot design and the operation of open-source systems for code development.

RICHARD VALELLY

Swarthmore, Pa.

The Diebold company, which manufactures A.T.M.'s as well as voting machines, uses Windows CE as the operating system in its AccuVote-TSX machine, with its own custom software installed on top of Windows. It uses a ''hardened'' version (according to a white paper available online) of Windows XP Professional for its A.T.M.'s. This seems to suggest that where money is concerned, the company uses a higher technological standard than it does for a person's vote. The article made clear that bad design, poor manufacturing quality, incomprehensible documentation and nonexistent training have created an atmosphere of frustration and mistrust where these new voting technologies have been tried. There seems to be a dereliction of duty on the part of government by entrusting the single most iconic action of democracy -- casting a vote -- to the private sector.

J. SCIARRA

Ridgefield, Conn.

I was disappointed to see the dismissal of the first criticism of digital voting booths as coming ''from the fringe -- disgruntled citizens and scared-senseless computer geeks.'' Given that ''the fringe'' accurately understood and reported the risks years before those in government did, perhaps ''scared sensible'' might have been more accurate?

CHRIS ADAMS

San Diego

Why doesn't the entire country do what we in Oregon have been doing for years: vote by mail. It seems to me that it would solve a lot of the problems addressed in your article on voting machines.

KATIE ORTLIP

Ashland, Ore.

What Is It About Mormonism?

As a sixth-generation Mormon, whose great-great grandfather, John Taylor, was prophet and president of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints following Brigham Young, I'd say that Noah Feldman's article (Jan. 6) shows a sincere resolve to produce a comprehensive sketch of the faith. I can assure readers, however, that the church leadership wants nothing to do with politics. Most of us consider the term ''outlier status'' absurd. I hope that any ''revelations'' on the part of our general authorities are seen purely as guidance to sustain the faithful and not as pandering to ill-founded public discourse.

DAVID TAYLOR JOHANNESEN

South Dartmouth, Mass.

Feldman's thoughtful article omits two possible reasons for evangelical discomfort with Mormonism. Aggressive proselytizing efforts are a fundamental feature of both Mormonism and contemporary evangelical movements. For many evangelicals, the existence of a well-financed and effective heterodox missionary effort is galling. Second, the history of Mormonism provokes genuine existential uneasiness. We know more about Joseph Smith than about any other major prophetic figure in history. If a farmer from Upstate New York, who has been denounced by some as a charlatan, can found a major world religion, isn't it possible that something similar lies at the root of conventional Christianity?

ROGER L. ALBIN

Ann Arbor, Mich.

I disagree with Noah Feldman. When it comes to religion, the country needs more ''soft bigotry,'' not less. Although there are better names for it than bigotry: healthy skepticism, critical judgment. Religious beliefs require faith, which is often touted as a glorious trait, yet faith is required because there is not one shred of evidence to support the supernatural claims of the faithful. Remarkably, these utterly baseless beliefs are often the basis for public-policy decisions, referenced to dumb-down science education, restrict health-care options for women and the terminally ill, divide nations into ''good'' and ''evil'' and deny basic civil protections for lesbians and gays.

With so many politicians pushing their religion, it's time that ''faith-based'' arguments are challenged in the public sphere. A healthy skepticism of those pushing unsupported supernatural claims is a good thing.

BILL S. GRIESAR

Portland, Ore.

Keeping It Real

James Gleick (Jan. 6) writes that an early copy of Magna Carta was sold at auction recently for $21,321,000. If his point was to emphasize the high value placed on artifacts that have ''historicity'' compared with the cost of obtaining the ubiquitous information flowing on our computer screens, he may have been unintentionally misleading.

Contrary to first impressions, $21 million and change for a Magna Carta copy is not so outlandish. If we can assume a modest price of $16.70 for this copy of Magna Carta in 1297, and assume an average 2 percent per year compounded rate of return up until 2007, the 710-year-old document is a bargain at $21,321,000. Albert Einstein is said to have called compound interest the most powerful force in the universe.

SIMCHA POLLACK

Jamaica, N.Y.

A copy of Magna Carta for $21.3 million? Capitalism is a wonderful thing. But when people spend their fortunes in this way when (for example) millions are dying from disease and famine in places like Zimbabwe and Niger, you have to question just how far the human race has evolved. I have taken to calling this the more-dollars-than-sense syndrome.